On view outside Rome for the first time in over two millennia, the sublime Lion Attacking a Horse is one of the most storied works of art to survive from antiquity. One of the earliest recorded works of ancient art on the Capitoline Hill, the sculpture formed the nucleus of Europe's oldest public museum of antiquities. Presented in a special installation at the Getty Villa, the extraordinary loan of this recently conserved marble group signals a new partnership between the J. Paul Getty Museum and the civic museums of Rome. The display also features several related sixteenth- and seventeenth-century bronze statuettes and prints that illustrate the reception of the Capitoline sculpture in Renaissance Rome.

Among the most storied works of art to survive from antiquity, the spectacular Lion Attacking a Horse was created in the era of Alexander the Great. A trophy of war in imperial Rome, then a symbol of justice in the medieval city, this image of savage animal combat was admired by Michelangelo and inspired generations of artists. On the Capitoline Hill, its presence heralded the Renaissance spirit, laying the foundation for the world's first public art collection. The extraordinary loan of this recently conserved marble group, presented in a special installation at the Getty Villa, signals a new partnership between the J. Paul Getty Museum and the civic museums of Rome.